Sharing Heartache
by whatsagoku
Summary: Ryan and Sharpay suffer under the weight of their love for others. Slight crossover with Suite Life of Zack and Cody


DISCLAIMER: I am not affiliated with Disney. I'm not making any money off of this.

Title: Sharing Heartaches

Author: whatsagoku

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Brother and sister sat side by side on a cushioned bench before an ornate vanity. Sharpay was tending to her eyeshadow before she would be heading out with her friends. Ryan studied her profile in the mirror for a moment before leaning forward over the desk to rest his chin in one hand. His gaze fell to one of his sister's rings. Carefully seated on a small cushion, another one of Daddy's meaningless gifts meant to secure her happiness for another day. He decided to go for it. That's what _he_ would do.

"Sharpay, what do you think of Chad?"

Sharpay paused, brush in mid-air. "Cha-what?"

"Chad. Troy's friend."

"Oh. One of those cavemen from the basketball team." She gave a small indignant sniff and returned her attention to her makeup. Chad looked up at her.

"Well, what do you think of him?"

"Think of him? I don't."

"Aw, come on. He's pretty popular."

"Among the masses, perhaps. The Old Navy-wearing masses."

Ryan sighed, but he wore a thoughtful expression. "Have you seen him play? Baseball, basketball, table-tennis..." (_Although only one of them was really _their_ game_, Ryan thought.) He's...he's awesome"

Sharpay gave him an incredulous glance, then stood swiftly and headed for the door without responding. When she reached the doorway she paused, then turned to look back at her brother. He was staring at his hands, which were clasped together lightly. He didn't say anything, but there was a light in his eyes that she had never seen before, and a small, wistful smile that had certainly never been directed at her, or anyone else that she could recall.

Something occurred to her for the briefest moment, but she quickly pushed it out of her mind. She wouldn't go there, to that place in the back of her mind that was reminding her that she wore a smile like in her dreams. That smile, that only appeared around a particular girl with enchanting eyes and a tender spirit, who had made her home in a hotel far away. It felt like a memory from another world, another life.

She couldn't afford to lose herself in dreams, and neither could Ryan. She turned and strode out of the room without another word.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hours later, nearly midnight, Ryan's transformation was complete. Ryan studied his reflection in his full-length mirror. Sports gear? Check. From this day on, that baseball mitt would never leave his hand. He would learn the game until he could recite stats backwards. Bling? Check. Giant metallic "R" around his neck. A little old-school perhaps, but he had to show Chad that he wasn't completely oblivious to the world beyond the salon and the country club. Diddy had one just like it, and no one was cooler than Diddy. Street cred? Now there was the only problem. Ryan could talk the talk, but until he has the attitude, the swagger, the gleam in his eye that said "Why yes I'm awesome," he wouldn't stand a chance. He had to be cool. He had to be hip. He had to be...Rico Suave. He entered his closet and scanned the shelves until he found what he was looking for. Ah. There.

An entire shelf devoted to designer sunglasses. Ryan deliberated for a few minutes before selecting a pair. With these, he could achieve greatness. He removed them from their stand and walked back to the mirror. Slowly, he raised the shades and put them on. He smiled. Perfect.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sharpay's heels clicked loudly as she made her way down the hall; students parting like the Red Sea to make room for her. Ye gods if their filthy mortal hands come near her person. It just wasn't worth the screeches it would bring. Her minions trailed behind her, throwing out random compliments and positive murmurs in response to everything she said, though she gave no sign of paying attention to them. Unnoticed by any of the ladies, Zeke followed in their wake, making no comment but keeping his gaze steady on the blonde leading the group. Her voice rang out over the din of the hall.

"Stripes were in two years ago but I'm really seeing WHAT?!"

She stopped suddenly, causing her entourage to crash into her back. After checking that their hair was in place, they peeked around their frozen leader to see what had shocked her so.

It was Ryan. At least, it was someone who looked like Ryan, who smiled like Ryan, and called out "Hey Sharpay!" in Ryan's voice; because there was just no way it could actually be Ryan. There was just no way. Ryan wouldn't possible leave the house looking so...shiny.

Oblivious to her horror, Ryan jogged over and waited for Sharpay to return his greeting, but she just looked him up and down silently. Finally she met his eyes. Her voice was as cold and sharp as a blade.

"Explain. Now."

"I'm a man on a mission. I'm— let's just say there's uh, I have a goal."

Sharpay blinked, and the obvious answer hit her. Of course! A show! "Is there some drama club event I'm unaware of?" She reared on her girls. "Why didn't anyone tell me?!"

Ryan stepped forward and waved to regain her attention and spare the quivering followers his sister's wrath. "No, no, no, it's nothing related to the drama club. This is personal. It's real. It's love."

Silence.

Sharpay slowly turned to face her brother. For a few seconds her face was frozen, until she lowered her gaze until it fixed on the mitt in Ryan's hand. Then at the metallic "R" hanging from his neck, and the shades. Realization dawned.

With a veritable snarl Sharpay reached forward and swiped the shades from Ryan's face. They clattered to the floor. Sharpay gave him one last furious look before she shoved her way past him and down the hall without looking back. The drones followed, jabbering excitedly, but Zeke remained behind. The two boys stared after her for a moment, then turned to face each other. After a few seconds, Zeke spoke.

"Look, Ryan...remember that time when everybody wanted to be something they weren't really supposed to be, at least, not publicly? But then we all got over ourselves and just had fun? I don't think Sharpay ever got the message, not really."

Ryan frowned as he toyed with the giant R, "I thought she would be impressed with my bling."

Zeke sighed. "That's not bling. It just makes you look like a skinny Christmas tree."

"I look like Diddy!"

"No, you look like Steve Urkel. Except Urkel was cooler. And that's saying something."

With that, Zeke stepped around the other boy and strode away in the direction Sharpay had gone. Ryan started to call him back but stopped and looked down at his fallen shades while he tried to determine whether Zeke's final remark was a compliment.

He reached down to retrieve his shades, and as he stood cocked his head and gave a half-shrug.

"They see me rollin.' They hatin.'"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Alone in the girls' bathroom, her minions sent away, Sharpay stared at her face in the mirror while she wiped away a stray tear. She hated the way she looked when she cried, all blotchy and frazzled, but even more than that she hated the reason for her tears. It wasn't Ryan.

Ryan, her poor innocent brother who truly believed that if he just tried hard enough, just believed with all his heart, that he could make someone return his love. How could she tell him her secret shame? Tell him that she was tormented nightly by dreams of a beautiful girl far away, who accepted and loved her with all of her being, and who wanted nothing more than to remain at her side? Every night Sharpay was haunted by visions of that sweet face, and every morning was agony when those visions slipped away with the night. Despite the pain it caused her, she eagerly awaited each night so that she could lose herself in those eyes for a little while longer.

The worst part of all of this was that she had no idea what was causing these recurring dreams. She supposed it was karma for her unkind disposition, but couldn't bring herself to care. The only person who understood her didn't even exist. With that final, dreaded affirmation, she collapsed to the floor in grief.

Her sob tore through the tiled bathroom, and was lost in the noise of the crowd walking past.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chad was frozen. Like a statue. Like an ice sculpture. It wasn't possible. Was. Not. Possible.

Ryan beamed. "Hey, Chad!"

Chad couldn't speak, could barely breathe.

Ryan continued, unaffected. "So I caught the game yesterday, and I..." He froze. It couldn't be. Something was happening to Chad and Ryan refused to believe that it was what he thought it was. Chad's face was hidden behind his shaking hand, and his shoulders shook despite an obvious effort to suppress it.

He was laughing. Hysterical, mocking, cruel laughter rang out in the hall. He was pointing one shaking finger at the boy before him and howling with mirth and disbelief. Finally he was able to colm down enough to speak, though the smile remained. "You're something else, Evans." Then he turned and walked away, leaving Ryan standing frozen behind him.

Chad didn't look back, but if he had, he would have seen a single tear escape Ryan's eye, and fall silently to the floor.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

That night, Sharpay sat without moving and stared forlornly into her vanity mirror, while Ryan lay stretched out on her bed across the room. Neither spoke for a long time, but when Sharpay finally nudged him off the bed so that she could crawl in herself to sleep, Ryan stood and looked down at her and spoke: "It's hard...finding that special someone, huh?"

Sharpay managed to settle into the blankets and gazed up at him. As their eyes met, a sharp but clear thread of understanding formed between them. They hadn't shared their individual heartaches, but both could see that each bore a private pain that pierced them to their very souls, the kind of pain that was only caused by another. Sharpay gave a small smile. "It is hard." She placed a hand on the pillow next to her own, and imagined the dark-haired girl gazing up at her. The vision was brief, there was only her pillow. Abruptly she pulled her hand back and turned over on her side, facing away from her brother. "Goodnight Ryan."

Ryan had caught a glimpse of her griefstricken-face before she turned away. She wanted him to leave, but he couldn't bring himself to go just yet. Instead he slowly settled himself back down onto the bed. Sharpay looked back over her shoulder.

"I told you to go."

"I know, sis."

That did it. The sympathetic gaze, the sincerity in his smile and the pure love he had always had for her, for his only sister, snapped her out of her forced stoicism. Her perfect face twisted in misery before she crawled over and buried her face in his shoulder. He held her as she cried, and made no noise when his own tears began to fall.

He knew they would be all right. No matter who floated in and out of their lives or dreams.

The End


End file.
